Portable still ring stands for gymnasts



y 1, 1968 R. M. FENNER ETAL 3,384,332

PORTABLE STILL RING STANDS FOR GYMNASTS Filed Feb. 18, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet I INVENTORS ROBERT M. FENNER DONALD E. HAMILTON ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,384,332 PORTABLE STILL RING STANDS FOR GYMNASTS Robert M. Fenner and Donald E. Hamilton, both of 3200 S. Zuni St., Englewood, Colo. 80110 Fiied Feb. 18, 1966, Ser. No. 528,560 6 Claims. (Cl. 248-165) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Two elongated parallel floor engaging bars having a collapsible A-frame extending therebetween at each extremity thereof with a tension element resisting collapse of each of said A-frames and a mast arising from each A-frame and supporting an equipment mounting truss thereover with tension cables extending from said truss to the outer extremities of said A-frames.

This invention relates to a frame or stand from which still rings or other gymnastic equipment may be suspended for use and has for its principal object the provision of an exceedingly sturdy, light weight gymnastic stand which will eliminate the necessity for permanent overhead and floor anchorages and which can be quickly and easily erected and readily moved to any desired position for use on a gymnasium or stage floor.

A further object is to provide a gymnastic equipment stand which can be quickly dismantled and folded for storage or transportation without the use of tools and which when folded, will be provided with retractable, nonmarring castor wheels for ready movability.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which is designed for simplicity, economy, and efiiciency. These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawing which forms a part hereof. Like numerals refer to like parts in all views of the drawing and throughout the description.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the improved stand provided with still rings and in the erected position ready for use;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, side view of the base portion of the stand of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a similarly enlarged side view of the stand in the folded position for storage or transportation;

FIG. 4 is a still further enlarged, fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 44, FIG. 1,

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of the left extremity of the base portion of FIG. 2 showing a supporting castor wheel, to be later described, applied thereto;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary detail section taken on the line 6-6, FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a detail view of a tie bar employed for maintaining the stand in the folded position of FIG. 3.

Briefly, the stand comprises a foldable base assembly from the extremities of which two telescopically-connected standards arise to support a head frame from which equipment may be suspended.

The base assembly includes two similar elongated, tubular floor bars 1% and 11 connected at their extremities by means of A-frames. The A-frames comprise a pair of parallel, spaced-apart, inclined brace tubes 12 are permanently secured to the floor bar adjacent the extremities of the latter and a similar pair of inclined brace tubes 13 are similarly secured to the floor bar 11. The brace tubes 12 and 13 of each pair are maintained in parallel relation by means of spacer tubes 14.

3,384,332 Patented May 21, 1968 The pairs of brace tubes" 12 are welded or otherwise secured at their upper extremities to horizontal pivot bearing sleeves 15. A pivot shaft 16 is rotatably mounted in each bearing sleeve 14 and projects beyond the extremities of the latter. The upper extremities of the pairs of brace tubes 13 are mounted on the extremities of the two pivot shafts 16 by means of suitable hinge clips 17 to form an inverted-V-shaped, foldable toggle frame, as shown in FIG. 2, adjacent each extremity of the pair of floor bars 10 and 11. The spread of the toggle frame is limited to a predetermined distance by means of flexible tension cables 18 which extend between cable anchors 19 positioned on the brace tubes 12 and 13 adjacent the lower extremities thereof. The tension cables 18 correspond in length so that the floor bars 10 and 11 will be maintained parallel when in the fully spread position.

An elongated hinge leaf 20 is mounted upon a hinge tube 21 rotatably surrounding the upper spacer tube 14 of each toggle frame and extends upwardly and over the bearing sleeve of its respective frame, as shown in FIG. 4. The leaf is provided with a conventional springloaded latch 22 which engages a latch opening in the sleeve 15 to temporarily retain the leaf in position on the sleeve. A tubular pedestal element 23 is permanantly mounted on each of the sleeves and, when the base assembly is in the erected position, extend vertically upward therefrom to receive two tubular supporting masts. To facilitate assembling and disassembling, the latches 22 may be withdrawn and the hinge leaves may be swung to any convenient position, such as shown in broken line in FIG. 3.

The supporting masts comprise bottom tubes 24, which are telescopically fitted over the pedestal elements 23 and top tubes 25 which telescopically fit into the upper extremities of the bottom tubes 24. A top truss 26, provided with downwardly extending tubular tenons 27, which telescopically engage in the upper extremities of the top tubes 25, extends horizontally between the upper extremities of the supporting masts.

The truss 26 is braced against longitudinal and lateral movement by means of front brace cables 28 and rear brace cables 29 which extend from attachment rings 30 on the truss 26. The brace cables 28 and 29 terminate, at their lower extremities, in turnbuckles 31 which, in turn, terminate in hooks 32 adapted to engage in book holes 33 in the lower extremities of the outermost inclined brace tubes 21 and 13. It will be noted that, when assembled, the cables 28 and 29 extend downwardly and oppositely outward from each other in both a lateral and a longitudinal direction so as to prevent both lateral and longitudinal movement of the truss 26 relative to the floor bars 10 and 11. It can be seen that, with the books 32 in place in the holes 33, the brace cables 28 and 29 may be uniformly tightened by means of the turnbuckles 31, to simultaneously urge the masts downwardly and the floor bars outwardly from each other, due to the toggle action of the two toggle frames, until the tension cables 18 are fully tensioned to provide a sturdy, completely loc-ked, equipment-supporting frame or stand. It is preferred to place cylindrical cushion pads 34 about the floor bars 10 and 11 to prevent marring of gymnasium floors and to resist movement of the stand on the floor.

The stand could be used for suspending any desired gymnastic equipment such as a trapeze, climbing ropes, etc. It is more particularly designed for supporting still rings, such as indicated at 35, upon which the gymnast performs with a minimum of lateral swing. The rings 35 are suspended in medial spaced relation upon adjustable ring straps 36 extending from ring cables 37 hooked to attachment clips 38 on the truss 26 intermediate the cable attachment rings 30.

When not desired for use, the stand may be quickly dismantled by simply loosening the turnbuckles 31, unhooking the turnbuckle hooks 32, releasing the latches 22 and swinging the masts downwardly on the hinge leaves 20. This brings the masts and the top truss within easy reach so that they may be quickly and easily disassembled. The two floor bars are then moved toward each other, so that they may be secured in the folded position by means of suitable tie rods 39, see FIG. 7, having hooked extremities 40 which can be hooked into tie bar retaining holes 41 in the brace tubes 12 and 13. If desired, one of the hooked extremities 40 of each tie rod may be pivotally mounted in its retaining hole 41 to prevent loss or misplacement of the tie rods. When in the folded position, the tension cables 18 may be draped over the tie rods 39 to provide two slings into which the mast tubes 24 and 25 and the truss 26 may be suspended for storage or transportation as shown in FIG. 3.

To facilitate movement of the stand, both in the folded and in the erected positions, a castor wheel 42 is foldably mounted adjacent the extremities of the floor bars and 11. Each castor wheel is mounted upon an elongated, L-shaped bracket plate 43 having a relatively long and a relatively short leg positioned at 90 to each other. The extremity of the short leg is welded to a bearing tube 44 which rotatably surrounds a hinge pin 45 which extends between hinge cars 46 projecting from each of the fioor bars 10 and 11 intermediate the pairs of brace tubes thereon. The castor wheels are mounted in conventional, rotatable castor wheel yokes 47 positioned adjacent the free extremities of the longer legs of the bracket plates 43. A spacing block 48 is slidably mounted on each longer leg intermediate the shorter leg and the Wheel yoke 47.

To place the castor wheels under the stand in the folded position of FIG. 3, the four bracket plates 43 are swung outwardly to a horizontal position beneath the floor bars 10 and 11 to support the latter as shown in FIG. 3. To place the castor wheels under the stand in the erected position, the bracket plates are also swung outwardly beneath the floor bars. However, when the stand is brought to the erected position, the castor hinge pins 45 will swing toward the floor, due to the rotation of the floor bars. Therefore, to maintain the long legs of the bracket plates horizontal, it is necessary to slide the spacing blocks 48 beneath the floor bars, as shown in FIG. 5. When the stand is in use, the castor bracket plates are swung inwardly from the floor beams to position the castor wheels out of supporting contact as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

While a specific form of the invention has been described and illustrated herein, it is to be understood that the same may be varied within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A stand for gymnastic equipment comprising:

(a) two elongated floor elements adapted to lie upon a floor in parallel relation;

(b) flexible tension elements extending between said floor elements and acting to limit the separation of the latter to a predetermined distance;

(0) inclined brace elements fixedly mounted on each floor element adjacent the extremities of the latter and extending inwardly and upwardly to a hinged connection with the inclined brace elements of the other floor element so that downward pressure on said hinged connections will apply tension to said tension elements;

(d) a tubular supporting mast mounted on and arising vertically from each hinged connection;

(e) a horizontal truss element extending between and connecting the upper extremities of said supporting masts from which, gymnastic equipment may be suspended; and

(f) a pair of tension cables attached at their upper extremities to said truss element adjacent and in spaced relation to each extremity thereof, said cables being tensioned to the opposite lower extremities of the inclined brace elements therebelow to urge the adjacent mast downwardly so as to exert a downward bias upon the hinged connection thereof to increase the tension in said flexible tension element.

2. A stand for gymnastic equipment as described in claim 1 having a tensioning device incorporated in each of said tension cables for adjusting the tension in said flexible tension elements.

3. A stand for gymnastic equipment as described in claim 2 in which each mounting for the supporting standards comprises:

(a) an elongated hinge leaf hinged at one extremity to one of said brace elements and extending over one of said hinged connections at its other extremity; and

(b) a pedestal element affixed to said hinge leaf and extending upwardly therefrom to provide a mounting for a supporting mast.

4. A stand for gymnastic equipment as described in :laim 3 having means for releasably latching the other extremity of said hinge leaf in position over said hinged connection.

5. A stand for gymnastic equipment as described in claim 1 in which the inclined brace elements and the hinged connections comprise:

(a) a first set of two pairs of spaced, parallel, brace tubes secured at their one extremities to and projecting in a common plane from one of said floor elements adjacent each extremity of the latter;

(b) a second set of two pairs of brace tubes similarly secured at their one extremities to and projecting in a common plane from the other of said floor elements in transverse alignment with the first set;

(c) a pivot shaft extending between and joining the other extremities of the tubes of each pair of the first set; and

(d) a bearing sleeve extending between and joining the other extremities of the tubes of each pair of the second set, said bearing sleeves rotatably surrounding the pivot shafts to hingedly join the second set to the first set in isosceles relation to said tension elements.

6. A stand for gymnastic equipment as described in claim 1 having:

(a) a castor Wheel bracket hingedly mounted at its one extremity on one side of each floor element adjacent each extremity of the latter and positioned to swing in a plane perpendicular to the floor axis of the floor element; and

(b) a castor wheel mounted adjacent the other extremity of said bracket so that it may be swung from a non-supporting position at one side of the floor element to a supporting position below the element in consequence of the swinging of said bracket.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 399,632 3/1889 Reach 272-62 1,637,705 8/1927 Newman 248-166 XR 2,446,518 8/1948 Arnold et al.

3,117,760 1/1964 Drcsbach et a1. 27262 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 1,010,672 10/1964 Great Britain.

ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner. CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Examiner.

J. F. FOSS, Assistant Examiner. 

